The Honeymoon Period (The Austin Series)

by Fallowfield, C. J.

  ‘I never meant to hurt him Robert, but to have expected me to discuss marriage and children so soon into a relationship, with my history, it was just a bit much.’

  ‘I think I was a bit harsh with you yesterday suggesting that you were the one that needed therapy, Mia. He’s my son and so naturally I want what’s best for him, but now I understand some of what you’ve been through, it makes me realise that neither of you has had conventional childhoods. Gabriel has a fear of abandonment, just as you’ve your own insecurities. It’s what’s prevented him getting attached to anyone until you. Mia, if you’ll accept my offer, Dr. Jarvis is excellent. He helped me through the loss of my wife and I should’ve insisted on Gabriel seeing him as well. I knew he missed Tabby and I expected some feelings of loss to linger, but I’d no idea until tonight that he felt anger and guilt over the accident. He’s finally told me the truth about what happened that day.’

  ‘He did?’ I asked, looking up at Robert surprised.

  ‘Yes, so maybe you can understand why he’s in a rather emotional state of mind this evening. I just can’t believe he’s held onto it for so long and that I didn’t put two and two together.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I was with Tabby in the ambulance and we both knew her injuries and blood loss were serious despite the paramedics trying to reassure us. We knew she might not make it and she told me to tell Gabriel not to blame himself. I never had the chance to ask her what she meant before they whisked her away and I …’ he shook his head and his hand tightened around his glass as the other clenched up on his knee. ‘I should have pressed it further with Gabriel and found out what had happened. He was just a child and I feel so awful that he had to carry that burden for so long.’

  ‘It wasn’t your fault, Robert,’ I said softly as I reached over and put my hand over his balled up fist. ‘You went through a terrible ordeal too.’

  ‘Yes,’ he nodded with a faint smile of gratitude at me. ‘But it’s inexcusable for a father not to recognise the anguish of his own son. We had a few difficult years where I pulled away and buried myself in work as I couldn’t handle losing her, but I should have been there for him.’

  ‘You’re there for him now, that’s all that matters,’ I smiled, wondering if my dad would ever realise his shortcomings and try and work things out with me. Robert let go of his glass and placed his hand over mine.

  ‘This is why I long to be a grandfather, Mia. I want to do it right second time around and give them all the support I wasn’t able to offer Gabriel when he needed it.’

  ‘I can understand that and I’m sure Gabe would too.’

  ‘He’s also told me how worried he is about losing you too, Mia. He knows he’s been short fused, but he’s really struggling with trying to balance his need to protect you and make sure you’re safe with his tendencies to be over possessive and protective of you. I’ve suggested he also see Dr. Jarvis to try and deal with his concerns, as he’s terrified he’ll push you away. I’d like to hope that maybe in time I could fund joint therapy, so you could listen to each other’s concerns.’

  ‘You’d really be willing to do that for us?’

  ‘Mia, my son’s deeply in love with you and in the short time you’ve known him you’ve made him open up and start dealing with some deep rooted issues that even I didn’t know existed. If it wasn’t for you I’d still be in the dark, so if I can do anything to help you work this out then that’s what I’ll do. I want to see him remain as happy as you’ve made him since you came into his life.’ He squeezed my hand tightly in his.

  ‘That means a lot, thank you Robert.’ I suddenly felt like his ultimatum wasn’t so threatening, he genuinely wanted what was best for Gabe and he saw me as a part of that solution.

  ‘I don’t want to scare you, but I told you he rang me the day after he saw you?’ I nodded. ‘Well he told me “Dad, I’ve just seen the girl I’m going to marry” which is exactly how I felt when I saw his mother the first time. In that ambulance, Tabby made me promise her that I’d do everything in my power to make sure he was happy and I may have failed him in some respects, but I’ll make damn sure I won’t again.’

  ‘I want to do the therapy, Robert.’ Gabe deserved to feel safe and loved and to have the life he desperately wanted. He was being open and honest and all I’d been doing was being stubborn by refusing to work with the man I loved by knocking down some walls built by my own father, a man I didn’t even care for. Robert was right, Gabe needed to be with someone who could give him the life he dreamed of. I knew I had a really rough journey ahead of me if I was going to try and face my fears and overcome them, but it was a risk I was willing to take, for my man.

  ‘Thank you, Mia,’ Robert smiled and let out a sigh of relief. ‘I’ll ask Dr. Jarvis to contact you on your mobile and arrange a convenient time to meet then. He won’t tell Gabe that you’re seeing him or disclose any confidences. Gabe was happy for you to know he was going to get help, but it’s up to you if you want him to know you’re going too. He won’t hear it from me.’ He patted my hand again and let it go.

  ‘Thank you Robert, it means a lot that you’re so supportive of us both. I’d better go back and check on him and take him some water, he was really drunk.’

  ‘Yes,’ he laughed. ‘Sorry, he’s never been able to hold his liquor, it was silly of me to let him drink so much, but maybe without it he’d never have opened up to me. Thank you for talking to me Mia, and you can anytime. I don’t have to be in the country, you know.’

  ‘Thanks, and I’m so glad that Gabe has been honest with you.’

  ‘Please try not to take what he said to heart, he loves you, very much indeed, he’s just very confused. He’s never had a serious relationship before and he’s finding the depth of his feelings for you hard to handle, especially as they hit him so quickly.’

  ‘I feel the same too,’ I smiled. I stood up and gave him a big hug wishing I could talk to my own dad like that. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and another glass. ‘I’m sorry you had to cut your call short.’

  ‘Yes about that, I’d appreciate you not saying anything to him. I was going to tell him this weekend that I’m seeing someone, but after our conversation tonight I really don’t think it’s the right time. He’s a bit too fragile.’

  ‘My lips are sealed, I’m very happy for you. Night, Robert.’

  ‘Night, Mia.’

  I crept back into the bedroom and let my eyes adjust to the darkness before moving. Gabe was on his back, on my side of the bed hugging my pillow tightly in his left arm. I stood watching him gently breathing, looked at his soft face and long dark lashes and felt myself aching for him. Fragile was never a word I’d have used to describe Gabe, but I guess deep down he was, maybe everyone was. The duvet was pushed down to his hips and I ran my eyes over his lean muscular body. I needed him, I needed his arms around me, the warmth of his body pressed against mine and I wanted to hold him, to kiss him and tell him how much he meant to me. I put the two glasses and the water on his bedside table and stripped off and peeled the duvet further back and smiled to see he’d gone soft. It wasn’t a sight I saw very often. I climbed over him on all fours and softly kissed his lips and heard him moan. I kissed them again and he stirred and slowly opened his eyes and looked at me and broke into a huge smile that made me melt.

  ‘I thought you’d left me.’

  ‘I left you to get you some water, but I was always coming back. I’m sorry to wake you up but I wanted to cuddle with you and you’re on the wrong side of the bed.’

  ‘I was looking for you. You were gone.’

  ‘I was downstairs, I’m here now.’ I kissed him again and felt a tapping on my stomach, it really didn’t take much to get him hard. He pulled me down onto him so I lay outstretched on his front, his erection trapped between us and he pushed his face into the curve of my neck as he wrapped his arms around mine and across my back, encasing me.

  ‘I love you Mia, I’d be lost witho
ut you.’

  ‘I know you do and I feel the same.’

  ‘I feel very drunk. I think I upset you earlier. What did I say?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter now, just hold me.’

  ‘Did I say something?’

  ‘Sssshhhh, forget it.’

  ‘I need you baby.’ His lips started moving on my neck and I closed my eyes and relished the feeling.

  ‘You’re drunk,’ I whispered.

  ‘I don’t care, I need you. You don’t need me?’

  ‘Always,’ I sighed as his hands started to run up and down my back while his lips caressed my hot skin. I kissed his neck and heard him groan and he reached down and pushed my buttocks so I pressed harder onto him. I lifted my head and our lips met and merged, we kissed slowly and softly and I moved my arms from under me and anchored his head with my forearms and let my fingers play with his hair as our tongues wrapped around each other’s and I sighed happily. I could lie here like this forever, feeling his arms around me, his mouth on mine, even with the taste and odour of whiskey on him. I pulled my head back and looked at him and he gazed back at me with an adoring look.

  ‘God, you’re so beautiful,’ he sighed as he reached up and brushed my hair out of my face, without missing this time.

  ‘Funny, I was just thinking the same about you.’ I ran my fingers over his lips and wriggled down his chest and lay a trail of kisses along his collarbones, from good to bad and felt the wet tip of his erection touching the bottom of my breasts. He parted his thighs for me to slide down between as I licked and sucked each of his nipples and felt him squirm below me as his fingers ran through my hair. I ran my tongue down over each of his abs and around his navel and heard him suck in his breath as I neared his cock, lying up his stomach and jerking every few seconds. I was careful not to touch it yet and kissed my way around it, enjoying the soft smoothness of his naked skin.

  I let my hands roam over his muscular torso as I gently bit and sucked on the inside of each of his thighs and heard him moan my name, before I moved to run my tongue over his balls while I stroked his perineum with my fingers. As I ran my tongue up his shaft he shuddered and I swirled my thumb over his head enjoying the softness of his foreskin and licked, sucking greedily and heard him groan.

  ‘You know what it does to me when you do that.’

  ‘How about when I do this then?’ I asked as pulled his foreskin down and ran my tongue around the edge of his head.

  ‘O fuck, Mia,’ he growled, then gasped as I took his length into my mouth right down to his root and back up again and I set up a steady rhythm and let my thumb and forefingers join in below my lips. I hollowed my cheeks and felt him moving below me, grunting each time I slid down his shaft and tightened my grip. I loved having him in my mouth, just as much as when he was inside me. I felt more connected, he needed me, he wanted me and it was all about what I could do for him and not what we could do together. ‘Mia, stop,’ he groaned hoarsely. ‘I’m going to come.’ He grabbed the hand resting on his stomach and linked his fingers with mine as he tugged, indicating for me to pull away, but I didn’t want sex, I just wanted to relax him. I sucked him harder and heard him panting. ‘Mia, you’re too good,’ he whispered as his free hand clawed at the sheets and I felt him stiffen in my mouth and suddenly it was flooded as he sat up and groaned and he held my head gently as I took wave after wave down until he’d nothing left to give me. He flopped back down on the bed and I pushed him to move over and lay down leaning against him, nestling into his shoulder while he wrapped a protective arm under my neck and supported my shoulder. ‘I love you so much baby,’ he murmured and pulled the duvet back over us.

  I smiled sadly as he promptly fell asleep, not for the lack of sexual reciprocation, but for his earlier words which still left a scar on my heart.

  Sunday

  When I woke up it was twenty to ten and he lay fast asleep, face down in the middle of the bed, his head sideways on the pillow facing me, with his arm outstretched across my stomach. It was the closest we’d been on waking in weeks. I carefully climbed out, substituting my body with a pillow for him to hold onto and went and had a quick wash and got changed into my yoga pants and red Bardot jumper, pulling my hair into a ponytail as I went downstairs to get us both some coffee. I found Robert already at the dining table reading the newspaper.

  ‘Morning Mia, I thought you’d sleep in longer after such a late night.’

  ‘You too.’ Robert looked fresh as a daisy.

  ‘I’m used to it with work. I often manage on only a few hours. How’s Gabriel?’ he asked and I blushed as I saw him notice the love bites up the side of my neck.

  ‘Still sleeping which is most unlike him. I thought I’d get him a strong coffee.’

  ‘How about I do us a cooked brunch for ten-thirty. That may help him recover. I need to leave at six tonight, so I was thinking we could have a late lunch /early evening meal together if I’m not ruining any plans?’

  ‘Of course you’re not, that would be lovely. Would you like another coffee?’ I asked nodding at his mug.

  ‘No I’m good, thank you.’

  ‘Then I’ll get him up and we’ll see you down here in a while.’ I carried the two coffees upstairs and shook my head to see he’d not even moved. I sat on the bed, leaned back on the headboard and gently stroked his hand and smiled as his fingers twitched and he mumbled something. ‘Gabe, wake up sleepy boy.’

  ‘Hmmm, I thought it was sexy boy,’ he groaned as he opened his eyes. Even hung over, the blue in them framed by his lashes made me catch my breath.

  ‘Not this morning, no. Gorgeous as you are you still look like hell. Coffee’s on your bedside table.’

  ‘Don’t I get a good morning kiss?’

  ‘No, not with that stale whiskey breath, drink your coffee and then you need to drink some of the water I got you last night that you didn’t even touch.’

  He rolled over onto his back and groaned and put his hand on his forehead. ‘I feel like shit. Did I wake you up last night?’

  ‘You don’t remember?’ I asked surprised.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Yes, yes you did. You staggered in at three and I had to undress you and try and put you to bed while you insisted on groping me and telling me how beautiful I was.’

  ‘Well that I can imagine doing. I didn’t try it on with you did I?’

  ‘Yes, you were quite persistent, so I gave you a blow job and you promptly fell asleep.’

  ‘What? Without looking after you?’ He had the good grace to look mortified.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘O God baby, I’m so sorry.’ He struggled up and leaned against the headboard and put a palm on his forehead again. ‘Shit. This is why I don’t drink large amounts. I never remember what I’ve done, end up feeling like crap and this is how I used to get into fights.’ I was glad he’d forgotten his comments of last night, there was no point bringing it up, we’d just end up arguing, but I was still feeling hurt that he’d not shared how upset he was. He reached over and drank his water in one and then grabbed his coffee and reached out for my hand, which I gave him and he squeezed it. ‘I can’t believe I didn’t look after you.’

  ‘You weren’t just drunk Gabe, you were completely wasted and you’re always looking after me so don’t worry about it. Drink your coffee, get some more water down you and go and have a shower. Your dad’s making us a cooked breakfast for ten-thirty.’

  ‘Great, I could really eat.’

  ‘Well I need to start doing some packing after and then we could go and get some supplies and do him a roast dinner before he goes.’

  ‘Do we have time for shower sex?’ he asked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down.

  ‘With you smelling like that, no.’ I got up while he protested and went into the bathroom and started unpacking all the toiletries and cosmetics he’d purchased me yesterday and discovered he’d cleared out the cabinet above the right hand sink for me. I put them away and headed into the wardrobe and unpac
ked the spare underwear and bras that I’d insisted we buy from a normal shop, instead of him buying designer gear. He’d also purchased me more work out and running gear, including some new trainers. Two bikinis, a swimsuit, some more jeans, t-shirts, jumpers and boots and converses that could be left at his, as well as a couple of nice going out dresses. I started packing the rest of my clothes and shoes to take back to the apartment and jumped when I realised he was standing behind me.

  ‘Gabe, you frightened me,’ I gasped with a hand to my chest. He stood naked watching me with his erection bobbing in front of him.

  ‘Come in the shower with me,’ he pleaded.

  ‘No we don’t have time and you still need to brush your teeth, I can smell the booze from here.’

  ‘See I told you this is how relationships end up, sex on special occasions only,’ he grumbled.

  ‘Well you only have four weeks to wait until my birthday,’ I teased.

  ‘Don’t even make jokes like that.’

  I reached up and smacked his bottom. ‘Like I could last that long. Move it big boy.’ He grinned and disappeared into the bathroom and I’d just finished packing when he returned clad only in a little towel and ran his hands through his wet hair and grinned as he saw my eyes roaming over his damp body, he really looked so good. He gave me his hand and pulled me up and put his arms around my waist.

  ‘Typical you want me now I’m out of the shower. I’ve minty fresh breath so kiss me, now,’ he ordered. I pushed my hands into his wet hair and pulled him to me and moaned as our lips met then suddenly remembered our discussion of last night and pulled away and buried my face in his chest and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck and sighed. ‘Baby what’s going on?’

  ‘Nothing,’ I mumbled. ‘I just love you and want to hold you for a minute, we’ve not been able to do this for so long.’